Bachelor's Degree "Applied Cultural Studies"

The interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree program in Applied Cultural Studies combines three focal points, which are central to the study location in Klagenfurt and its geographical proximity to Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, for work in various professional fields (including cross-border).

• Cultural Analysis: In this focus you will deal with different cultural phenomena. By cultural phenomena we understand everyday life as well as art, music and literature. You will learn qualitative, especially ethnographic methods (e.g. interview, participant observation, visual methods) as well as hermeneutic-interpretive and quantitative methods and apply them in terms of a relational cultural analysis. You will explore these methodological approaches through current and historical topics. Excursions, which can accompany courses, will open up new fields of research and practice.
• Languages: The second focus is on learning or deepening your knowledge of a Slavic and a Romance language. You will also improve your English language skills. In addition, you will further deal with historical and contemporary forms and manifestations of multilingualism (e.g. language minorities, language policy, migration-related multilingualism). Individual as well as socio-political aspects will be considered and their mutual entanglements highlighted.
• Fields of practice: In the third focus area you will learn – also under the guidance of external teachers from practical fields – how to apply your cultural analytical knowledge. Central areas are cultural mediation, knowledge communication and cultural management. On the basis of individual projects and self-organized events, you will gain initial insights into different fields of work during your studies.

In an increasingly interwoven and globalized world, applied cultural studies are becoming more and more important, both in connection with actors on the international level as well as locally in the discussion of cultural diversity and difference. The question of social, cultural, political, economic and historically grown borders arises in the Alps-Adriatic region in a very particular way. Against this backdrop, applied cultural studies not only has a high social relevance, but also opens up numerous career perspectives in various fields for its graduates.

After completing your Bachelor’s degree, you are qualified to immediately begin the Master’s degree in Applied Cultural Studies. If you would like to start your professional career, you will have the skills to independently develop the content for projects and to implement them in terms of organization. You are able to transfer your knowledge and qualifications to various professional fields. For example:

in cultural and educational institutions

in museums and exhibitions

in the media sector

in public relations

in tourism

in the event organization

in NGOs

in private-sector organizations and companies

in state-run institutions and authorities

in the social sector